Tag: history
Holmes Middle School celebrates 50th anniversary
The Holmes Middle School orchestra performs during the 50th anniversary celebration. Students, teachers, alumni, and community members celebrated the 50th anniversary of Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle School in Lincolnia Oct. 21 with musical performances, reminiscences, a 5K run/walk, dedication of a new Little Free Library, and cake. School board member Sandy Evans presents a school … Continued
Annandale’s oldest house is open to the public on Oak Hill Day, Oct. 21
The public will have a chance to take a peek inside the historic Oak Hill mansion on Saturday. Oak Hill, an 18th century Georgian-style house at 4716 Wakefield Chapel Road, Annandale, is all that remains of the Ravensworth Tract, which dates back to the 1670s and once encompassed 22,000 acres. Oak Hill is privately owned … Continued
NOVA invites public to 50th anniversary ceremony
The Pruitt farmhouse. Northern Virginia Community College invites NOVA alumni and the public to a Heritage Celebration Sept. 22, at 10:30 a.m., on the “Historic Site” on the Annandale Campus. That site, where the original Pruitt family farmhouse once stood, is next to the CM building. NOVA President Scott Ralls will dedicate interpretive signage at … Continued
Community members charged with voting for a new name for JEB Stuart High School select ‘Stuart’
The scene outside Stuart High School as people showed up to vote for a new name. The option for retaining the Stuart name for JEB Stuart High School got the most points in a voting exercise conducted by Fairfax County Public Schools Sept. 16. “Stuart/Stuart Raiders” got a total of 917 points, while Justice Thurgood … Continued
Historic marker commemorates Lincolnia church
A crowd gathers for the historic marker unveiling at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church has sustained the African-American community of Lincolnia for 150 years. That milestone was commemorated Aug. 5 with the unveiling of a new historic marker established by the Fairfax County History Commission. Bishop Carroll Baltimore Sr. … Continued
Here’s another ‘Stuart’ worthy of a school name
Alice Jackson Stuart As the Fairfax County School Board prepares to consider a resolution next week about renaming JEB Stuart High School, some board members have expressed the desire to search for a compromise that could be acceptable to both sides. Those who want to keep the name point to the need to preserve the … Continued
New musical covers Fairfax County history
The cast of “The Complete History of Fairfax (The Musical),” from the left: Christopher McDonnell, Hillary Leersnyder, Jesse Pollack, and Alex Poirier. [Class Act Theatre Players Company] By David Siegel “The Complete History of Fairfax (The Musical)” celebrates Fairfax County’s 275th birthday with a humorous look at well-known, little-known, and mythical characters from the past. … Continued
The past comes alive at Fairfax County’s 275th birthday celebration
Fairfax County celebrated its 275th birthday in style June 17 at the Historic Courthouse in Fairfax with many costumed re-enactors, live music, storytellers, crafts, and living history exhibits. Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment stationed at Ft. Myer in Arlington appear as soldiers of the Continental Army in 1776. Re-enactors portray the 17th Virginia … Continued
Neighborhood History Project seeks photos and stories from the past
The organizers of Fairfax County’s commemoration of its 275th anniversary this year have launched the Neighborhood History Project to collect information about the founding of local communities, civic associations, and neighborhoods. When Fairfax County was created in 1742, the mostly rural population was about 4,125. Today, more than 1.1 million people live in this urban … Continued
Historic Oak Hill is on the market
Oak Hill, the oldest and most historically significant house in Annandale, is on the market for $1.55 million. The listing, by Christie’s International Real Estate, says the Georgian-style house, at 4716 Wakefield Chapel Road has six bedrooms, five and a-half bathrooms, a modern kitchen, and a private apartment over a two-car garage. The 2.6-acre property … Continued
African American women of the past appear at Annandale library
From the left: Patricia Tyson, Bobbie Coles, Cavon Dixon, Jeremiah Brown, Carol Gordon, and Judy Williams. Frances Ann Rollin was a writer who scored an early civil rights victory. Hallie Quinn Brown was a leader in education and women’s rights. Elizabeth Taylor was an accomplished singer, and Hattie was a slave who lived in obscurity. … Continued
Fairfax County celebrates 275th anniversary
A photo taken in the 1890s or early 1900s of a store in the West End of Alexandria run by Thomas Terrett Jr., who also had a grocery store and post office in Bailey’s Crossroads. The West End was part of Fairfax County until 1952. 2017 marks the 275th anniversary of Fairfax County. There will … Continued
New historic marker commemorates a vanished black community
Descendants of the families who created The Pines. Families in the small African-American community in Annandale called The Pines tended their gardens, fished in a pond, had sleigh rides, went to church, sang together, and enjoyed Sunday dinners of baked chicken, greens, mashed potatoes, ice cream, and four-layer cake. “It was a … Continued
Process for exploring Stuart name change delayed
Stuart High School Opponents of changing the name of JEB Stuart High School are spreading misleading information about the cost of a consultant to facilitate a working group authorized by the Fairfax County School Board to develop recommendations on a name change. The school board passed a resolution July 29 calling for the establishment of … Continued
Working group proposed to study Stuart High School name change
School board member Sandy Evans (Mason) plans to ask the board to create a working group to consider changing the name of JEB Stuart High School and report back with a recommendation by July 2017. “After reading historical documents and arguments on both sides, considering all the community input to date, and discussing this with … Continued